Pandora Love
by Mangoflavored
Summary: What happens to a regular hunter when an intriguing newcomer drifts in on the river? Where did this newcomer come from, and what does this chance meeting hold in store for everyone? Watch out, Male x Male, but nothing too intense ;  non-movie characters
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everybody! So, it's been awhile since I've posted anything, and I've **never** posted anything for Avatar before! So get excited for some reading ;) __Okay, so the whole story plot takes place outside the usual Avatar movie plot, so there aren't any recurring characters or events, and everything is pretty much other character :) A few warnings before you read, there are two **male** characters that are paired up (if you don't like that kind of thing, don't read it! duh), although there isn't anything particularly offensive that goes on..._

_In an already successful clan (completely separate from that in the movie, in a location far away from the movie location...) a newcomer, forced out of his own clan by their pre-existing prejudices, washes up one day. He lies to them, trying to make a new start and blend in, but can he stop himself from forming an "unusual" relationship with one of the warriors? How will everyone, including himself, respond?_

_Atan`ko's POV__:_

The sound of the raging water overwhelmed my senses. The rain pounded down on my back, tearing away clothing, washing away blood and tears. I clung tighter to the log, my only lifeline in the raging waters, and prayed to Eywa for safe deliverance from this deluge. I shut my eyes tight against the darkness of the storm, the thunder ringing in my ears...

_Taronyu's POV:_

I returned to Hometree as a hero, surrounded by the cheering of my comrades loaded with the spoils of a successful hunt. But we were not met with the usual clamor of activity, and the tree seemed all but deserted. I put down my bundle of meat and stopped a little one asking what was going on. The excited child filled me in, "When they went out to the river to gather the fishes from the nets there was someone from another tribe! They was all alone, asleeping in the water! He was almost naked and all by hisself!" Before I could even thank the little one he was off, running up the inner spiral of the tree. I carried my bundle to the women cleaning the catch and hurried upward towards the crowd surrounding an occupied sleeping leaf...

_Atan`ko's POV:_

I could hear the hushed voices of many people echoing, as if in a large cavern. I tried to feign sleep, but couldn't help shivering in the cool air that surrounded me. I opened my eyes at the rough shaking of cool hands and looked up at the spiritual leader of some clan. But she was not familiar... I wasn't home. My memories of the village, the storm, and my desperate escape came crashing back into my head and I curled against myself again to stop my tears...

_Taronyu's POV:_

It was night now, and the craze from this afternoon had calmed down. But, as everyone was returning to their sleeping leaves, our leader had requested to speak with me about the strange newcomer.

"He is a little strange, but he claims to be a hunter from his clan." he said. Shocked, I replied, "How can he ever have been a hunter? He is small and delicate as a woman! It would take no effort to break him as easily as a small branch! What do you think-"

"I know that he is odd, and his culture is strange to us, but perhaps he could fit in here. With the help of one of our skilled warriors. With **your** help." I stared at him dumbfounded, trying to let this new information sink in. "He says that his entire clan was scattered or killed by a group of rogue Thanators, and he has been through much over the past few days. You are one of our most skilled hunters, and perhaps you could show him the ways of our clan and help him to recover from the stress of his struggles." I simply nodded once and he turned, gesturing to the newcomer who was warming himself by the dying embers of a small fire wrapped in a hide. We walked over together toward the shivering newcomer. He stared up at us with obvious nervousness before getting up quickly and dropping the hide. As the wrap fell, it revealed delicate features on smooth skin unblemished by scars or cuts. Each curve and turn of his body was more graceful and elegant than any woman's, and his braid gleamed with healthy shine. The chief began to walk off with him, leaving me to follow. As he turned he revealed a deep mark marring his skin. I could see the anger of the creature who had inflicted it, but it seemed strange somehow... as if there had been no Thanator at all but rather something else... something like a... I looked away as the newcomer glanced back at me, and followed them up into hometree. We stopped by my leaf and the chief turned to me and said,

"Oh, Taronyu... There are no free sleeping leaves, so you'll just have to share with Atan`ko for now. I'm sure that you'll be fine. Goodnight you two!" And then he wandered off before I could argue. I glared at his retreating form, but hopped into my leaf with a sigh. I turned to Atan`ko and gestured for him to follow me in. He hesitated a second, then tried to follow in the same way I had but fell from the swaying of the leaf. He tumbled, with a muffled squeak, right onto my chest, and I held him there before he could tip the whole leaf.

"Geez, haven't you ever slept in a leaf before?" He shook his head, still nervous, and clung to my arm. I sighed and said, "Well it's easy. All you have to do is close your eyes and sleep." I tugged on the edge of the leaf and he watched it close around us with interest. We lay there, trying to sleep, listening to the sounds of everyone resting after a long day. Just as I was drifting off he whispered,

"Thank you, by the way... I'm Atan`ko."

"Oh, no problem. I'm Taronyu. Goodnight." He nodded and lay down again, snuggling a bit closer. I sighed and laid my arm over his delicate shoulders and finally fell asleep, totally at ease with this new stranger...

_Atan`ko's POV:_

I woke up feeling strangely at ease, warm in someone's strong arms... Completely comfortable. A mere second later and I realized the strangeness of the situation. My eyes flew open and I took a delicate gasp of breath. I was cuddled up with the man who was going to help me make a new start. The big, strong man who was going to help me... I gave myself a mental smack and whispered to myself,

"Come on, come on! This is the kind of thing that got you into trouble before..." I froze as I felt Taronyu stirring underneath me. I closed my eyes, feigning sleep again, and let him wake as covertly as possible... I felt him stir, and stretch. I felt him breath in and sigh. I felt his hands slide along my hips. And then I felt him flinch away and delicately shift me away from him before tapping me "awake". I rolled over and smiled at him.

"Good morning Taronyu." I said, smiling.

"Oh, yeah, good morning Atan..." I giggled as he forgot my name, but ended his mental flailing,

"It's okay, you can call me 'Atan' if you like." He smiled groggily before opening up the leaf and hopping nimbly out. I felt myself frown at being left, but smiled hugely when he turned to help me out.

"Come on," He said, "We start early here. You're not expected to hunt yet, but we may as well get into the spirit of it." He smirked a bit before starting quickly down the tree. And, after a good night's sleep, I kept up pretty well...


	2. Chapter 2

_Okay everybody! So I wrote these two chapters at the same time, but decided to post them separately... The last one sort of set up for this one, and this one sort of deviates from the overall story so far. So get ready for the fluffy romance from the ten foot tall blue people that we all know and love!_

_Taronyu's POV:_

It had been almost a whole month since Atan had washed up on the river. He had turned out to be a real asset to the clan as a whole, and I had enjoyed his company as well. But, something was off about him... He was just too much like a woman! And that made our relationship complicated... He had a peculiar way about him, and the others had begun to notice it. He was well liked by most everyone, and the men seemed to like him a bit **too** much at some times. But it didn't matter, two men couldn't be mates, it was completely unheard of, right? But Atan was nothing but good for me too. He was the perfect hunting partner, and friend, and he had even helped me romantically (although I had still been unable to select a mate). But, things were beginning to get weird, he was always walking around as if he'd committed a crime, or like he was afraid of being accused of one...

_Atan`ko's POV:_

It's true that it had only been a week, but things were so good that it was hard to be anything but ecstatic. Taronyu was everything that anyone could ask for as a friend, a companion, and maybe something more? But I knew that I had to be wary of such feelings. This is the type of thing that had caused me problems before, and I was not going to ruin my new life... So, I would fight these feelings and stay bathed in this happiness.

I was carrying a bundle of fruit that was collected from the forest down into the stores as a favor for the women and tripped over a badly placed tree root. Luckily there was a set of strong arms to catch me. The arms pulled me tight, and I sighed happily in the dark.

"Taronyu, thanks so much, I almost-" I stopped as I turned and saw that it wasn't Taronyu. "I'm sorry, I just thought that you were someone el-" I was cut off by a pair of calloused lips pressed against my own. I pulled against the grip, but was held tight. I silently cursed my small, weak body and bit down, sharp canines drawing blood. He threw me down on the ground and ran off snarling to himself quietly. I crouched down, alone in the dark, and tried to gather myself. There is no way that I could let Taronyu see me like this...

_Taronyu's POV:_

A hunting party had just returned with their quarry and it was time for everyone to eat. I was looking for Atan and had gotten him some food, but he was sort of missing... I had looked nearly everywhere for him and was just about to give up when I found him by a fire with a chilly look on his face. Sensing trouble I pasted a smile on my face and passed him his food.

"Oh, hey." He said before leaning in and whispering, "Hey, wanna go somewhere else?" He glanced around at someone whining about their cut lips before walking off toward the inner section of Hometree. He led me up the spiral toward the top of the tree. We peeled off about three quarters of the way up, onto a huge branch fenced by leaves and lit by the luminescence of the forest at night. I glanced around, struck by the beauty of the night, and sat down to eat. The night was cool, and I surreptitiously moved myself closer. Within minutes were side by side, looking out at the trees. Atan seemed thoughtful and restful. I was going to ask him what he was thinking about when he suddenly leaned his head against my shoulder, his thick braid tickling my arm. I glanced over at his face, not asleep, but peaceful. Eyes shut with delicate lips parted ever so slightly with just a drop of fruit juice stubbornly clinging still. That one sweet drop of juice... I was absolutely sure that that one drop of juice would be the sweetest drop in the world, so I slowly leaned over to taste it...

_Atan`ko's POV:_

My eyes flew open as I felt a pair of warm lips pressed against my own. I saw Taronyu pull back quickly, embarrassed. I saw him blush purple in the plant's glow and struggle for something to say. Before he had to make a fool of himself I smiled, stopping his response by covering his lips with my own. I had never really done this before and wasn't prepared for the explosion of feeling that came from the connection. I felt myself losing control, the light headed feeling slowly dragging me downward. Taronyu took control, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer. I felt him nibble delicately on my lower lip. Instinct made me sigh, allowing him to slip his tongue in, adding a whole new level of feeling to my already impassioned heart. My body moved on its own, solid limbs moving fluidly, hands framing faces, fingers stroking cheeks, temperatures rising, heartbeats reaching breakneck speed. I broke away from the kiss, moving downward, mapping Taronyu's torso with my lips and tongue...

_Taronyu's POV:_

I felt Atan's warm tongue tickling each of my muscles, every nerve sending pulses of pleasure up and down my body. I gently pushed him off, then straddled him, stroking his chin with my thumb. I saw his watery eyes fill with tears and leaned down to kiss each one of them. I returned to stroking his chin and saw his eyes start to overflow with tears. He looked directly into my eyes, my heart skipping a beat, and he mouthed "I love you" but no sound came out. I put my hand right over his heart, feeling the rapid pulsing. Then I looked back into his eyes and moved his hand over my heart. I looked back into his eyes, not moving my hand, and said the four words to summarize myself entirely: "I love you Atan`ko". Then I did the only natural thing, the thing that Eywa had always wanted. I leaned down to Atan and whispered,

"Are you ready?" Atan nodded, all tears gone now. I carefully took both our braids, and connected myself to Atan. Then, we closed our eyes and felt the fireworks emanating from our mate's chest.

_Hm... so I didn't really like the way this chapter ended, but whatever :) I'm not sure whether or not to write any more chapters, so comments would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks so much everybody, until next time keep reading crappy romance fanfictions! ;)_


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